See if we are the right family for your precious baby.

Dearest Expectant Parent(s),

We are grateful that our letter has found its way to you. We hope that learning about us makes a difficult process a little easier. Your decision tells us that your character is that of a person capable of sincere love, compassion and selflessness. These are descriptions of you that we will forever convey to this very special child. We would love to be able to share with your baby the great qualities he/she shares with his/her biological/birth/first parents.

Our children are the light of our lives and truly make us happy. We always planned on having a large family and want very much to adopt several children. Kobi, who is almost six, is very much a BOY. He loves dressing up like his favorite superheroes and rescuing others in “distress,” but is also very cuddly and very much loves and protects his siblings. Maya, who is four, is in a world of sparkles and princesses and, more often than not, is dancing or singing. Simon, who is one, is a very happy little boy and is very eager to be able to really play with his big brother and sister! In an instant, our future child will have three welcoming siblings and two experienced, grateful parents to adore him or her.

Libby’s parents and two of her three sisters live just an eight-minute walk away from us, in the same house in which Libby grew up. Her other sister lives in New York, and so we get to travel there and to Florida every year to visit. Josh’s parents live just a short drive away in a beautiful lake house, and just recently got a boat and so we see them at least a few times a month. One of his sisters is also in town, and the other is planning to move back within driving distance with her family, which includes two young children.

Your baby will receive unconditional love from us, from Kobi, Maya and Simon, our parents and our siblings and our large extended family as well and our very close circle of friends and our community. He or she will get to travel with us both across the U.S. and also internationally, will one day go to summer camp, take lessons, play an instrument, have the opportunity to go to college and study abroad. This child will be supported in reaching for his/her dreams. We look forward to watching this child grow up and become an individual and to be able to share that with you.

If you think we may be a good fit for your hopes, we look forward to meeting you and learning more about one another.

With fond thoughts, best wishes and many thanks,


Libby & Josh

Nice outfits, huh!

And finally....

Final thoughts:

We are so excited to add another child into our lives and our family. We delight in spending time together as a family. We love having a big family, and think that having siblings is so important to children, who benefit from having others to share their memories with and to rely on as they grow. We hope to adopt children of African-American heritage, so your child will not be the only adopted child, or non-white child, in our family.
Our kids are going to have such great memories of their childhood! Josh and I feel lucky that we were able to start our family when we were young, which keeps us so energized and active now. We take great pride when people compliment us on being great parents; it is the most important thing to us.
We look forward to hearing from you!
To reach us, please call our Adoption Counselor, Maggie, at Adoption Center for Family Building at 1- 800-869-1005

About Josh

From Josh:

My parents are the most fun people I know. Every time we see them, they make sure everyone is enjoying themselves. My father is an entrepreneur. Growing up, he owned a number of businesses. My favorite was the ice cream store in the local mall, where I worked for awhile. My mom is now an elementary school teacher at a school not far from our house. Growing up, she stayed home to raise me and my siblings. I am very close with my family. My older brother passed away when I was fourteen, and I have happy memories of playing with him as a kid. My sister Erin lives with her husband and two kids in Arkansas, where she is a teacher, and is planning on moving closer to home in the next couple of years. My youngest sister, Kelly, is in town, finishing her college degree. She is very artistic and our house is full of the ceramics, sketches and even jewelry pieces she has made.

My parents always made sure that Sunday morning was family time. We would fix a big breakfast and sit and talk and laugh all morning. When I was in the fifth grade, my grandmother bought a condo in Florida, and from then until I was in college, my family would drive down to Florida a few times every year. I remember we would spend every day at the beach or pool, throwing a football or playing Frisbee in the sand. Every evening before dinner, we would take a walk for about a mile down the beach and we would all look for shells. Travel has always been important to my family, and that continues today within my own family. We have taken the kids with us on a white-water rafting trip (though they did not go on the boat!); we traveled to Italy and on a cruise and go on several car trips a year to visit friends and family.

My family also has a serious interest in music. The entire family plays piano, and growing up we had two pianos in the family room so we could play against one another! I loved that so much that I have started collecting pianos as an adult. I started playing piano when I was just five, ended up getting my degree in Music and after college was in a local rock band until the lead singer left town. I still play at home, and Libby and I plan to have each of our kids play an instrument of their choosing, as well.


Libby’s thoughts about Josh:
There are lots of hugs and smiles in our house, and Josh is a huge part of that! He dreams big and works hard to make those dreams a reality. There is not much Josh does that is purely for himself- he wants everyone to benefit from his actions. Even in his chosen profession he is happy knowing his clients are at ease and he easily earns their confidence, and then he gets to come home to have dinner with the kids and play before it’s time for stories and bed. His devotion to our marriage and to our children is absolutely unwavering. He is a fantastic father. Josh calls home at least once a day just to talk on the phone with Kobi and Maya, and comes home ready to give us his all. He wants his family’s life to be full of love and laughter and to create great memories for our children.

About Libby

From Libby:

My childhood was a really happy, carefree time. My father is a professor at the local university and my mother worked a few different part-time jobs as I was growing up. When I was little she worked at a local bakery. I remember sitting outside the bathroom door well before sunrise while she got ready to ride her bike across town to work. I would give her a kiss goodbye and tell her which kind of doughnuts she should bring home to us. After the third child was born into the family, when I was eight, she worked as a nursing assistant at the hospital. She worked just late at night so that she was home when we got home from school. I remember very clearly the meals we use to eat the nights she worked. My dad only fixed a few different meals, and one time he messed up the pizza he was making, putting the cheese on before the sauce. Not a big deal, but to us kids it was hilarious and from that point on that’s what we would ask for the nights we knew our mom would be working. Now my mom and I work together in the office where the kids go to school. When I am working, she is helping to take care of her grandkids.

My family is very, very close. My mom has always been the ideal of what a mother should be. She somehow disciplined us with out us ever being aware of it. We were always her first priority and we felt that. Meals were always made from scratch, as were birthday cakes, and the garden was full of flowers, berries and vegetables. My dad and I are very much alike. We have a great relationship and he adores babies.

I have three younger sisters. My sister Abby and I are very close. We are just 19 months apart in age and did everything together as kids: gymnastics, ballet, swimming lessons. We squabbled and depended on one another, as sisters do. She is now living in New York and works in Harlem as a social worker, helping to keep HIV-positive women in stable housing. We talk on the phone a couple times a week and having her back home to visit is a great treat. Haddie is eight years younger than I am and attends the local university. She is very talented, and we get to see some of her dance shows throughout the year. Lastly, Miriam came along when I was fourteen. She is very into athletics, and has been a competitive swimmer and trained for a long-distance bike trip.

I love spending time with our kids. We like to explore town, visiting parks and the library, visiting the Farmer’s Market and craft fairs, listening to local music and getting ice cream, swimming at the lake and pool. When they are in bed at night, I relax by reading or making baby quilts, working in the garden or going walking with friends. I also love baking (anything chocolate!), but I let Josh do the cooking!


Josh’s thought about Libby:
My wife is my perfect complement. Her strengths are my weaknesses, and vice versa. She is well organized and works to maximize time with our children. Libby is a wonderful mother and a great wife. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her while we were in college. She and I attended different schools and it was nearly a two-hour drive to see her. Sometimes I felt like I couldn’t wait until the weekend to see her. Many times, to the detriment of my grades, I would leave school in the middle of the week and drive to see her, even if just for a few hours! I knew then that my life would not be complete without her. She is kind, honest, loving and caring and I am thankful every day that she is with me.

Our family and the fun we have

Kobi is loving his new legos these days! He is excited for school every day and for his karate and piano lessons. He's a very sweet and smart kindergartener. Our friends are always impressed by how much he loves babies and how gentle he is with infants.

Maya is our Drama Princess. She loves having an audience to show off the dances she makes up and to listen to her sing. She takes very good care of her baby dolls "practicing" for her new little brother or sister.

And Sweet Simon is just the happiest little boy. He is off and running and likes to hang around with his big brother and sister.

We're all wearing sweaters (or, in Josh's case, a tie!) that my mom made for us this winter.

Josh teaching Simon how we celebrate "touchdown!"

Halloween

Our home

Our home:
We live in a beautiful two-story home at the end of a cul-de-sac in a large and diverse family neighborhood in south-central Indiana. When we go out for walks, our neighbors are often out walking their dogs and kids are biking and playing ball. Everyone smiles and says hello.
Our house has four bedrooms, a sunny playroom, open kitchen and a basement. We bought this house with kids in mind and there is no room that is off-limits to the children. We have a great yard for playing and several flower and vegetable gardens. We plan lots of meals on the back porch, which is also covered in flowers and fresh herbs.
We have a great group of friends, almost all with young children, so we stay busy with family dinners, birthday parties and play dates. We have dinner with Libby’s family a couple times a week and go out to the lake to see Josh’s parents and cruise on the boat several times a month, as well.

About us

About Libby:
Born: August 1978 (29 years old)
Height: 5’ ½”(!), medium frame
Complexion: fair
Dark curly hair, blue eyes
Education: college graduate
Occupation: PT office administrator, though our plan is that I will stay home after we adopt. I also teach aquatic fitness at the YMCA and am trained as a Doula (“birthing/labor assistant”).

About Josh:
Born: March 1977 (30 years old)
Height: 6’1”, large frame
Complexion: medium
Very little hair (I keep my hair nearly shaved), green eyes
Education: college graduate
Occupation: Private Client Advisor at a bank

Josh and I met while on the swim team in high school. We are happily married and recently celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary! We have three precious, fun children whom we adore.
We have always planned to have a large family, and hope to adopt at least twice. Our family would be perfect for a child of any race and kids are very excited about having a new baby in the house! We are a spiritual family and are actively involved in our religious community.

On adoption:
We are very excited to have the opportunity to meet you and support you in any way we can through your pregnancy. After adoption we would love to keep in touch with through letters and pictures, phone calls and even visits, if you would like. We would welcome an open adoption plan. We hope to adopt at least once more in the next couple of years, so your child will have another sibling who understands being adopted.

Thank you so much for considering us for the honor of being parents to your child.